Cultural Differences

Day one of my declaration was a success! I had the MOST amazing French toast with a hazelnut spread at breakfast, followed by an incredible stir fry at dinner. I don't think what they fed us at lunch could even pass as edible, but I'm not quite sure I should expect from a hospital cafeteria. Oh! After dinner we went to the little get together at Cafe Torino, and I'm pretty sure none of us have felt that full and happy since getting here. The coffee and tiramisu is to DIE FOR, but in addition to our usual orders, the fed us a platter of homemade pizza and quiches along with little cakes and treats. It. Was. Delicious. Can I bring that little cafe home with me? I swear his tiramisu alone would make him a millionaire. Who's that Good Eats guy? Yeah. Lets call him.
I don't really have much to say about clinicals because we didnt do much but want around the hospital on yet another tour. I will bring this little fact though. I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but I'm too lazy to got back and check so here goes. Instead of having individual rooms for most of their patients. They have them either in longs wards, separated but curtains, or multiple beds to a room. They're huge rooms, so whatever you're picturing is probably a million times worse than how it actually looks. And while we were walking around I was chatting with a Hungarian student and we were discussing generalized differences between healthcare and culture in Hungary and the USA. (Please note that I'm doing my best to keep my political opinions out of this, so if you're looking for politics, this is not the place to be). First of all, the Euoropeans themselves are a LOT more chill about privacy. As in, by American standards, there is none. Co-Ed changing rooms are surprisingly common and no one seems concerned about changing clothes in front of each other. PDA is rampant everywhere, and the women don't seem to mind... Err... Being slightly less conservative than what I'm used to. So in a culture that open, I'm not particularly surprised that they're totally down with sharing hospital rooms with others. Now, throw in the fact that their nurse/patient ratio is off the charts (13-26 patients per nurse minimum), and that their nurses barely get to spend time with their patients. Also, the Hungarian medical staff also mentioned that they don't have the same issues with patient loneliness and depression that we do in the USA. I'm not saying that its a perfect solution or anything, but it does make me wonder if patients that have roommates also have decreased rates of hospital associated depression, especially if they don't have family that is able to be with them. For all it's faults, the Hungarian medical culture very much seems to believe that patients heal better either at home or with their family, which I'm sure does wonders for patient moral. That being said, I know that there are some people reading this that are flabbergasted that I would even propose such a concept, but it's also worth noting that the Hungarians have grown up with this method of thinking. If you were to put a Hungarian patient in their own room, they would think that they are dying. Isolation for them is a way of telling them that they are way too sick.
Just a little food for thought as I sit here on my bunk bed in a room of four. Tomorrow's agenda is as follows: clinicals, free time, coffee, dinner, dessert at the crepes place, the famous thermal baths, and maybe a massage. Maybe I'll have a few more adventures to report tomorrow.
Wish me luck!
A comfortable Budapest student